


A Study of Hro Talak

by welcometothisday



Category: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons)
Genre: Character Study, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:48:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22938166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/welcometothisday/pseuds/welcometothisday
Summary: A study and opinion piece over one of the DCAU's most loathed characters.
Relationships: Shayera Hol/Hro Talak, Shayera Hol/John Stewart
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	A Study of Hro Talak

**Author's Note:**

> This is NOT an appreciation of Hro Talak or something meant to justify his actions, but to put things in perspective.
> 
> Seriously, the amount of hatred this character gets is astounding to me.

**Background Information on Author:**

I grew up watching the entirety of the DCAU, which consists of Batman the Animated Series (1992-1995), Superman the Animated Series (1996-2000), Batman Beyond (1999-2001), Static Shock (2000-2004), Justice League (2001-2004) + Justice League Unlimited (2004-2006), and even some of the lesser known Zeta Project (2001-2002).

I've also watched and analyzed some of Bruce Timm's films, such as Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015), Batman and Harley Quinn (2017), and Justice League vs the Fatal Five (2019).

In all, starting from 1992-2019, the DCAU has spawned television shows and films for 27 years. I was born in 1996, meaning that the DCAU is older than I am, and it was my parents who introduced me to the Batman Animated Series, Superman, Batman Beyond, and the Justice League Series. Other projects I had actively searched for because I love the universe that much.

I could list the ways these shows impacted my childhood for better or worse, the innuendos and jokes that flew over my head, the most memorable characters and episodes.

However, for this piece, I'm just focusing on one character, and one that is hated or barely tolerated most of the time: Hro Talak.

**Background Information on Character's Appearances:**

For anyone who doesn't know who Hro Talak is, he's a character that has appeared in both[ Justice League](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/marvel_dc/images/3/38/HroTalak_DCAU_001.jpg/revision/latest/top-crop/width/360/height/450?cb=20091229203723), and in Young Justice. His name is an anagram of Katar Hol, the original Hawkman. The character was created to be the main antagonist for the finale of the Justice League Animated Series before Justice League Unlimited was made. He was the promised to this universe's version of [Shayera Hol aka Hawkgirl](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/dcanimated/images/f/f2/Hawkgirl.png/revision/latest?cb=20180707194732), who just so happens to be one of the most [gorgeously](https://youtu.be/p9wuWj4X2G4?t=196) designed characters in the DCAU.

In any case, Hro Talak's role for the finale was leading the charge of an invasion on Earth... _To save his people._

Yeah, explaining this might get complicated so anybody wanting to skip it, read the labels to find whatever you're looking for while reading this.

**Starcrossed Plot:**

Throughout the show, we've only ever seen one Thanagarian up to the finale's arc: Hawkgirl. She's the only glimpse we had of her people and their culture.

Through her we learned that:

  1. Thanagarians are telepathically resistant
  2. They are a militaristic society
  3. They lean towards eating sea food or the equivalent - or at least Shayera does (eel heads, korschian oysters, etc)
  4. They like loud/violent celebrations after [successful battles](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UsUIG2wp3g)
  5. Their ancestors worshiped an entity was basically Cthulhu who had taught them skills such as how to use Nth metal in exchange for their souls ([though no longer do so](https://youtu.be/iV2DKCQ2HfM?t=47))
  6. Ancient Thanagarians were in ancient Egypt and treated as [deities](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1Zub37tlyQ) (Justice League Unlimited)



There's more but I'm writing this when I'm half asleep, so...

When you have one character as representation for an entire race though, things are obviously biased and there's things that the representative in question either can't or won't say. For instance, Shayera Hol was a spy sent from Thanagar to see how strong and capable Earth's defenses were in comparison to invaders called Gordanians who the Thanagarians have been at war with for years. Or, at least that was what she'd been told.

The truth was that the Thanagarians were planning to make a [hyper-space bypass](https://youtu.be/DtjZ0j2nS2g?t=91) (basically a wormhole/galactic transporter) that would enable the Thanagarians to invade the Gordanian home world. It was a five-year planned mission, meaning that billions of Thanagarian lives are on the line for this plan. However, the plan also involved the hyper-space bypass that would destroy the planet once activated.

In this arc, Shayera struggles between her loyalties between two worlds, knowing that tens of billions of lives that she loves are depending on where she stands. No matter what she chooses, she's dubbed a traitor. It's the ultimate catch-22 and honestly, even as an adult now I'm not sure I could have been able to make the decision that she had to. And that leads to Hro Talak's decisions as well.

If you want more details, watch the show, please. It's awesome, and my summaries won't do any episode justice (no pun intended).

**Observations While Watching:**

When I was watching the DCAU, I didn't read comics. Yes, feel free to boo me, but the DCAU is what introduced me to comics in general. It's because of these shows that I became invested in fandoms and writing at all. My favorite characters have always been those placed in more difficult positions because they have inspired me in multiple ways as to what I can do if faced with something similar.

A part of that is Shayera's situation, choosing between two worlds in life or death situation. As she puts it, she was choosing what she believed was [right](https://youtu.be/_D74Ev4cFmo?t=90), and I believe she was telling the truth in multiple instances. As for why she felt that way, I've come to a head canon/idea that she ultimately had to figure out what she would regret more. What could she live with? For her, she couldn't go through with destroying the Earth because she'd regret that more than Thanagar continuing to fight. This decision is obviously debatable, but even as a kid, I understood this not just to be a decision for her, but all Thanagarians.

Now, the Thanagarians didn't have the years on Earth that she did, but that didn't mean they weren't compassionate. Terrifying and controlling, yes, but they are desperate as well. There's dialogue from the first arc in the Justice League series that I think might describe the situation [fairly well](https://youtu.be/iNNMZpagMzs?list=PLkLimRXN6NKwOybbWpLUuYZfJZxxgLj-D&t=177):

_Diana: "Perhaps Mother was right about mankind. They're nothing but untamed savages."_

_J'onn: "Do not judge them too harshly. They act out of fear."_

The Thanagarians have worked on this plan for five years out of fear for their people's lives. To them, everything is hanging in the balance and to them this is the only course of action to take. I'm not justifying what they did, but I do understand it.

As for Hro Talak, it's stated that he was one of the people who suffered by Gordanian hands the most, having been kidnapped and most likely tortured (based on his scarring and anger), in one of the Gordanian prison camps. Beyond the presentation to the world governments depicting a battle between the races, Hro Talak's face reveal told me a lot about what the Thanagarians were dealing with. They have the strongest metal weaponry, physiology far stronger than most humans, and they are a warrior people all trained in the art of war. This is a _commander,_ supposedly one of the best who has been [traumatized and scarred](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wfh4dawM5ws) so much. He clearly doesn't want what he went through for his people.

"I know this must be difficult for you...What is obligation can sometimes feel like betrayal. _But our only true obligation is to Thanagar."_

Before you argue that he just hates the Gordanians that much, Hro Talak is capable of compassion. One of the most notable scenes that told me about his character was when he rescued a goat from harm in the Gobi Desert. He doesn't even know what the thing is when he risks harm to himself to save it ("Look after this little one"), but he recognizes it as a living and feeling creature in need of help. The commander knows he's going to destroy the planet and that this foreign creature is going to die anyways. He still saves it despite not needing to.

And now we get to my least favorite part...Hro Talak vs Green Lantern. Ugh.

**John Stewart vs Hro Talak**

I really wanted to avoid writing about this part because in this instance, at least in my opinion, Shayera's and Hro Talak's choices were not directly influenced by the relationship(s) between these characters.

To be clear, I do ship this version of GL and Hawkgirl. However, Shayera _was_ originally promised to Hro, while seeing Green Lantern anyways. Here we see a character, a _protagonist_ , having cheated on her partner. That shocked me as a little kid because to me, only bad guys did that. I was so angry at Shayera because she kept that a secret from both men. In the beginning, John didn't seem to have a problem with Hro despite the circumstances. The Thanagarian commander was not to blame for Shayera's choices. And as for Hro...

This part is going to be hard to write for me.

When Hro Talak finds out that Shayera betrays Thanagar, and namely _him_ , the first thing he tries to do is take some space to think about things. Yes, he's angry and understandably so, but he doesn't initially lash out at her. He doesn't yell, he doesn't harm her. He wants her out of his sight.

When he sees her [again](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjigOyWSs8w), he actually talks with her. He does his best to accept what happened, and move on. He offers her options, wanting his partner back. It can be argued to be a codependent relationship (aka not entirely healthy) in the sense that he feels like he needs her to help stabilize him after all he's been through and vice versa, but the relationship and betrayal still remain. Shayera doesn't say she loves him, but that if he wants her she's his as long as he trades tens of billions of Thanagarian lives for her acceptance of a possible relationship.

He's waited five years to see her again, the love of his life, and she betrays everything they've been doing and everything he believes in. It's true that he does associate Green Lantern with it, but it's not all about Shayera, it never was.

**The Final Showdown**

Then comes the final showdown. He's had time to process everything. He's done his best to try to convince Shayera what they're doing is right, and that he still cares for her despite how much she's hurt him. In that moment, he is pissed, but he is fighting for the lives of his people. He's not fighting for Shayera, or actively trying to hurt her. Don't get me wrong, he _does_ hurt her and even the voice actor for Hro Talak loathed voicing that scene, but as Hro says, "There is no us anymore..."

Hro Talak is fighting for everyone else he cares about, trying to save them not only from death, but torture and further lifetimes of pain. He's choosing to save them, over the woman who's hurt him and those same people multiple times over even if he still loves her.

It's _not_ about Hro and Shayera. It's about two worlds and their survival, and how these individuals decide the fate of all involved.

Again, not justifying what he does, especially slapping and fighting Shayera the way he did (lines were definitely crossed), but I get it.

If you need something more? He let both Green Lantern and Shayera [go](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jqbnfGQ-qM) when the Thanagarians were defeated. He could've acted out in anger, killed or tortured them as a form of catharsis, but he doesn't. In Justice League Unlimited, we learn that he dies saving as many members of his people as possible in a suicide run. For the Thanagarians, this guy is a hero for saving who knows how many despite everything that's happened.

I don't agree with Hro Talak, or like a lot of the things he did, but I understand them and on multiple levels. I respect him.

...

..

.

So, it was a bit of a surprise to me to hear how much people _hated_ him.

**Judgement:**

I've seen a wide variety of comments saying he's xenophobic, an incel, abuser, etc.

And I have to ask, did we see the same character? Are we going to acknowledge the choices the Thanagarians felt they were forced to make? That Hro Talak felt he was forced to make?

Looking back, it's kind of like both his and Shayera's own version of a Kobayashi Maru: You're screwed either way, somebody's gonna die, and there's going to be pain all around.

I can see why he's hated, especially after how many times I re-watched his battle with Hawkgirl and Green Lantern, but it feels like people hyper-fixate on that as well as the whole love triangle thing instead of evaluating the rest of his character.

Hro Talak is a soldier who has been through Hell and back, who is compassionate towards even the unknown ("little one"), is caring towards those close to him despite how much they might hurt him, and is extremely protective. Like John Stewart, he is a soldier who has had to make tough calls and knows what it means to defend those in need despite being on opposite sides of the situation. Would his decision have changed no matter how this went down?

He may have been the _antagonist_ of the arc he premiered in, but that does _not_ mean he's a _villain_.

Even Young Justice recognized this when they made him a commander and protector for his people. He's a jerk in the episode he appears in, but his priority is Thanagar and his reasons for not liking the Justice League are understandable there too.

I know people are probably going to hate me for writing this, but I've tried hating Hro Talak, and I can't.

I see too much of him and Shayera sharing a similar situation of choosing between the two worlds they care about, and they chose differently from each other.

_What would you have done in his position?_

Again, there's more I should write but I'm half asleep and my brain barely functions as it is.

**Author's Note:**

> And no, I don't have a crush on Hro Talak to make me feel the urge to write this character in a more positive light (why us that listed as a reason for anybody pointing out major issues?)...
> 
> But I think I did have a crush on both Hawkgirl and J'onn.
> 
> Seriously though what would you have done, for better or worse, in Hro Talak's position?


End file.
